]]>http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?feed=rss2&p=43660Lobby Day bus routes finalizedhttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4328
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4328#commentsTue, 24 Mar 2015 20:15:38 +0000cknapphttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4328On April 8, all roads lead to Austin for LOBBY DAY 2015! GET ON THE BUS! As you can see from the list below, a Lobby Day bus going through or passing near almost every major Texas city.

It’s not too late for you to reserve your seat on the Lobby Day Bus!

On Wednesday, April 8, take a stand for our jobs and the services we provide to the state of Texas!
GET ON THE BUS!

After an intense push by TSEU members across the state asking lawmakers to fully fund our pension, today, legislators from the House Appropriations Committee laid out a plan to put the ERS pension on a path to full funding. Their proposal, if passed, would:

increase the state’s contribution to 9.5% of employee pay (currently at 7.5%)

increase the employee’s contribution to 9.5% of pay (currently at 6.9%) in September 2015

maintain the agency contribution at .5% of employee pay

provide a 2.5% pay raise across-the-board for all state employees!

This plan would mean virtually no pay increase for all state workers for the next two years. This is after most state employees have only seen a 3% increase in pay over the last seven years. Texas can and must do better for its employees! University workers are left entirely out of the proposal.

TSEU’S POSITION:

While it’s a huge step forward for lawmakers to increase the state’s contribution to the fund, asking state employees to go for another two years with no real pay raise is a recipe for more turnover in our agencies as more state employees decide they can’t afford to keep working for the state. TSEU is calling on lawmakers to provide a REAL pay raise, in addition to the increased pension funding, that will actually help state employees keep up with the rising cost-of-living.

What to do now:

Make plans to attend State Employee Lobby Day on Wednesday, April 8th in Austin. You can buy your ticket HERE.

Call the members of the House Appropriations Committee from your part of Texas (see below) and tell them:

Call ALL legislators from your region listed below, as well as the Committee Chair and Vice-Chair, if possible. Urge co-workers, friends and family to make calls as well – what affects us, affects them! Email how many calls you made to Harrison Hiner.

TELL THEM:My name is __________________ and I’m a state employee/retiree from ___(name your agency)___. It’s a huge step forward that the state has committed additional state funding for ERS. However, I’m calling to ask Representative _________________ to support a real pay raise for all state employees above the 2.5% raise which will be taken away by the increase in employee contributions to ERS. State employees need a real pay raise to catch up with the cost of the living that continues to rise for us and our families. Thank you.

Today, March 6, ballots are being mailed by ERS to the homes of all state agency employees and retirees for the 2015 ERS Board of Trustees election. Be sure to look for your ballot in the mail and vote for Ilesa Daniels for the Board of Trustees. Your vote matters! We need a voice to represent front-line state employees and retirees on the Board. Ilesa will be that voice!

Once you have voted, email shutchinson@cwa-tseu.org and spread the word to other state workers and retirees to do the same.

]]>http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?feed=rss2&p=42040TJJD Mini Lobby Day: members making it happen!http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4182
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4182#commentsThu, 05 Mar 2015 16:09:28 +0000cknapphttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4182On Wednesday, March 5, members from the TJJD caucus met in Austin for their Mini-Lobby Day. At the top of their list: Fighting for a pay raise, no closures of TJJD facilities, and 20-year retirement for TJJD workers.

Our meetings went well, but only emphasize the need to have a strong and impressive TSEU Lobby Day in April. It will take an organized effort to convince our elected leaders that state employees and state services MATTER! Put us ahead of private contracts and tax cuts.

back to TJJD main page

]]>http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?feed=rss2&p=41820Legislators, media reports focus attention on FPShttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4175
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4175#commentsWed, 04 Mar 2015 22:18:21 +0000cknapphttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4175Many issues related to our agency and the services we provide have come to the forefront during the first few weeks of 2015. The current legislative session, which ends June 1st, will be another opportunity for state leaders to either take action to lower caseloads and reduce turnover rates, or to continue searching for shortcuts to improve services. TSEU members will continue to stand up for real solutions that address the fundamental issues in DFPS- better pay, safe caseloads, and an end to costly privatization experiments.

House Committee- Slow Down Redesign

The House Human Services Committee released their interim report just prior to the beginning of the legislative session. Among other issues, the Committee recommended, “the Foster Care Redesign rollout should be temporarily delayed pending further evaluation of available data, additional Public Private Partnership input, and possible legislative direction.” TSEU members testified at the Committee hearing in April 2014, and discussed the need for better oversight and regulation of private agencies because of the inadequate training they provide to foster parents and inappropriate homes they approve.
While expressing support for the overall idea of redesign, the Committee Report detailed specific issues that need to be addressed between DFPS and the private contractors operating as SSCCs (Single Source Continuum Contractors). One of the key issues to address is funding. Similar to earlier privatization attempts in DFPS and other state agencies, SSCCs have asked for more state funding for their own administrative costs and to meet the requirements of their own contract. The full report is available HERE.

No Bid Contracts- It’s Who You Know

The scandal surrounding no-bid contracts has brought to light the lack of transparency that exists at the highest levels of our agency and HHSC. A multi-million dollar contract to detect Medicaid fraud awarded to 21CT has been scrapped because of the role played by top officials with personal and financial ties to the company. Within FPS, a contract with the same company to track families investigated for child abuse was cancelled after media inquiries. Similar to the Medicaid fraud contract in HHSC, 21CT had no experience in providing this service prior to being awarded the $452,000 contract. The professional connections between AT&T and two other FPS officials responsible for awarding and overseeing a $105 million IT contract has also brought to light the lax control over contractors.

Investigative Reports- Same Problems Continue In DFPS

A lengthy investigative series by the Austin American Statesman has renewed calls for reform at DFPS. Most troubling about the issues raised by the articles is that the problems are not new. High turnover rates, dangerously high caseloads, low pay, unclear policies, and an emphasis on numbers of cases closed are well documented problems in FPS. However, legislative actions have failed to make a difference despite repeated claims by elected leaders that great steps have been taken. The increase in the number of employees in FPS is cited repeatedly by legislators and state officials claiming that so much has been done to fix the agency. However, despite these increases and numerous internal reform efforts, little has changed on the frontlines. The new positions have not been enough to meet the needs of Texas’ growing population, and constant turnover means valuable experience is not being gained. Caseloads have not lowered significantly to allow staff to spend the time needed to perform quality casework instead of just checking boxes.
The articles also detail how the agency itself has been claiming progress in terms of declining child deaths by using incomplete and inconsistent information. State leaders have expressed their anger over this issue, and have pledged to work to increase transparency and accountability. The full series of articles is available HERE..

what’s next?

Get involved in your Union, and make your voice heard with decision makers. During the next few months, decisions about the future of our agency and the services we provide will be made. Union members will be standing up for a real pay raise, lower caseloads, and quality state services. There are no shortcuts- new technology and new software will never replace quality work provided by experienced employees. Get involved today!

In a revised budget request, DFPS is seeking to increase startup payments to $1 million for each new Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) in four new Foster Care Redesign catchment areas. Currently, SSCCs receive $208,000 for startup costs. Besides the ballooning startup costs, additional funds of about $1.3 million per year for each SSCC are being requested to protect the financial well-being of the private agencies operating as SSCCs.

Frontline employees want to know: where’s OUR raise??!!??

The high cost of turnover in FPS takes a toll on all employees and the Texans we serve. Decision makers in Austin are ignoring the fact that low pay forces many dedicated employees to leave the agency. Instead, the focus is on internal changes that consultants and “experts” have identified. There are lots of tweaks that can be made to improve our agency, but without a real pay raise staff turnover will continue to be a crisis.

]]>http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?feed=rss2&p=41650TSEU Legislative UPDATE – MARCH 3, 2015http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4157
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4157#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 17:44:24 +0000cknapphttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4157This week the Senate Finance Committee will be holding hearings on multiple tax cut proposals. Both the House and Senate have proposed roughly $4.6 billion in tax cuts, most of which would benefit high income earners and business owners. The state of Texas has an estimated $18 billion budget surplus plus another $11 billion in the “Rainy Day Fund”, adding up to nearly $30 billion in available funding for the biennium.

While many lawmakers see excess funds as an opportunity to give tax cuts, there have not been any commitments to fund items that are a high priority for state services and employees. Such items include funding state agencies at a level that keeps pace with a growing population, reining in skyrocketing tuition and increasing funding for universities, providing an across-the-board pay increase for all state employees, and allocating the $377 million needed to sustain the ERS pension fund.

Legislators from both political parties have raised concerns about using the surplus revenue for tax cuts while many state programs and services remained underfunded. Republican State Senator Kevin Eltife (SD 1, Tyler) stated, “We need to deal with the real problems of this state first and then deal with tax cuts…I cannot support tax cuts until I know there’s a plan in place to meet the needs of this state.” Multiple Senate Democrats have also voiced similar concerns.

The bottom line is that the state of Texas is currently experiencing financial prosperity while state employees continue to endure low and stagnant pay, attacks on our benefits, and under-staffed state agencies. Texas families face soaring tuition rates that are keeping their kids in debt longer as they graduate from universities. And state retirees are still living on the same flat pension annuities they were receiving 14 years ago. Ignoring these issues before giving tax cuts is not only damaging for state employees and retirees but to the 26 million Texans who rely on the services we provide.

Call the members of the Senate Finance Committee from your region of Texas (see below) and tell them:

My name is __________________. I’m a state employee/retiree and I’m calling to ask Senator __________________ to provide the ERS pension fund with the additional $377 million it needs, increase funding for state services and universities, and provide an across- the-board pay increase for all state employees before the Legislature considers tax cuts.

*Calls can be made both today and tomorrow (Wednesday, March 4th)

After you’ve made the call, email Harrison Hiner (TSEU Legislative Organizer) to report the response you received.

]]>http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?feed=rss2&p=41570TSEU leads fight to save Austin SSLChttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4143
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4143#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:42:56 +0000cknapphttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4143After the Sunset Committee proposed closing Austin SSLC, along with five other unnamed state supported living centers by 2017, TSEU went into action with a postcard campaign. We launched the campaign at our Save Austin SSLC picnic which was planned by activist Stacy Offord. Since then, hundreds of postcards have been sent to area legislators asking for their support in keeping these valuable services for a very vulnerable community of Texas citizens.

Offord and fellow AuSSLC member Susan Hanson met with with Senator Kirk Watson and Representative Elliott Naishtat’s offices (whose districts include the facility) to explain why these specialized services are needed and are not available in community homes. Getting legislators to understand the medical needs, behavioral challenges and reliance on the type of care and treatment received at these facilities will be key in stopping closures.

TSEU members have joined in with the Austin SSLC Parents Association in demonstrations outside the facility, protesting the evictions of residents.

Saving Austin SSLC and others from the budget cutting axe which jeopardizes the health and safety of many of our most vulnerable citizens is going to be one of the biggest battles for our union this legislative session. The private group home industry and developers who would profit from the evictions and sell off this valuable property are serious and have powerful political allies. To win we must continue to build our membership, COPE fund, activism and work together with advocacy and community groups.

]]>http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?feed=rss2&p=41430Texas Lawmaker Asks for Audit of Second Health Contracthttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4133
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4133#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:24:40 +0000cknapphttp://www.cwa-tseu.org/?p=4133Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, wants the Texas auditor to review how a private firm was selected to operate a state psychiatric hospital in Terrell.
The request from state Sen., is the second recent call for an audit of the way the Texas Health and Human Services Commission strikes a deal with a private contractor.

In a Jan. 7 letter, Nichols asked State Auditor John Keel to examine the commission’s award of a tentative contract to GEO Care LLC to operate the Terrell State Hospital (GEO Care’s name recently changed to Correct Care Solutions.) The hospital, one of 10 the state owns, was the subject of a federal investigation two years ago over the 2012 death of a patient.

Nichols’ letter follows the suspension of a separate, $110 million contract for Medicaid software. The commission has come under fire for awarding that deal to a relatively unknown company called 21 Century Technologies Inc., or 21CT. ” . Federal investigators targeted Terrell State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in East Texas, after the Austin American-Statesman reported on the death of a patient there in 2012. In 2013, the investigators found she had died because she was held in restraints for too long and didn’t get adequate nursing care, THIS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT ALL STATE HOSPITALS HAVE BEEN STARVED OF FUNDING FOR YEARS.

“We will only sign a contract if we believe the private sector can improve patient care,” Goodman said. State officials have long discussed privatizing all of the state’s 10 psychiatric hospitals. Goodman said Janek “believes it’s important to look at alternative ways to improve services at Terrell.